Sunday Cover Scramble [83]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I'm changing up the format a little bit! I am going to be pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

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Sidekick Showcase [89] - Best Friend

Sidekick Showcase is a monthly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on the first Saturday of the month, then whichever day during the month that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, click the 'Sidekicks' link in my header and enter the link for your post. Here, you can also see anyone else that posted during the month to visit their Sidekick Showcase's as well.

Topic ideas for September:
Best Friend, Fun, Ball of Energy, Humorous

My choice is Kat Parker

The White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter

I love this chick! She is the type of person that I wish I could be. She lives in the NOW. She is not afraid to take risks and treats those that she loves like treasures to hold on to forever.  She actually embodies all the topics that I listed for this month. She is Ali's best friend no matter what. She is fun, incredibly humorous, and has a sassy attitude that I find endearing. She's got that 'everybody loves me' thing, and if they don't love her 'oh well, their loss'.

Quotes:

"You'll be fine," she said merciless. "They'll love you. And if they don't, well, let me know who I need to punish. That's a specialty of mine, just FYI. So is tough love." She patted me on the butt. "Now go get 'em, baby cub."

---

A frowning Kat stood in front of me. "There you are," she said. "Back from your mental vacation. Do you know you're, like, hovering in the middle of what I've deemed social Siberia, blocking traffic?"
"Sorry," I replied.
A sigh left her. "I know people say apologizing is a sign of weakness, but I think it's a sign of strength - when people do it to me. Just do me a favor and capture my next words like the beautiful butterflies they are and never let them go. If you don't wipe Cole Holland from your mind, you'll end up on the SS Miserable with me."

---

“Alley Kat. Racing to the rescue of another stray?"
Grinning, Kat strolled to my side. "Yes I am. To your rescue, just so we're clear. My Ali has skills. The first time I met her, there were people all around her moaning and groaning in pain. True story. Also, I don't want her suspended after only two days just because she did the entire school a favor and fed you your own teeth. Besides, Cole's the one you should be chatting with. He practically ate her up with his eyes. In fact, I'm surprised Ali doesn't have bit marks."

---

A chuckle left me. Kat had a gift. She could make me laugh, no matter the circumstances.

---

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Review: Desperate Reflections (Adventures of Alexis Davenport #3) by Shay West

Published: August 28th 2014 by Booktrope
Genre: YA, Time Travel
Format: ebook
Source: provided for honest review

Goodreads Summary

In this final book of the Adventures of Alexis Davenport Series, we find Alex dealing with more drama than ever: her first break-up, her mom's new boyfriend, and attempting to learn the secrets of her “gift” on her own. 

Desperate to stop Drifter, Alex uses her ability to locate the evil Traveler, only to discover that he lives in her time... 

And he knows who she is. 

In a final race against time, Alex must discover Drifter's ultimate plan, stop him, and save her family...all before prom.

"If I didn't need you to complete my plans, I would kill you where you stand!"

The Good

I really enjoyed the conclusion to the series. The final show down in the past is exciting and at the same time the action gets closer to home. Plus, she gets some more help in her fight with Drifter and his master. Really enjoyed the secondary characters in Desperate Reflections and would love to read a spin off involving Gavin and Sean.

The Bad

I have no real complaints with the 3rd book

The Romance

The romance in Desperate Reflections is great despite our heroine being a bit selfish and bratty for the start of the relationship, and Alex also meets a guy that makes her heart race and her palms sweaty.

Conclusion

This is a great little 3 book series. A nice good clean series, with a different concept on time travel. I had a lot of fun with it and would recommend it without any reservations. The characters are worth getting to know and the adventures are worth having. This is a series I'll be revisiting for sure.

Excerpts

"You've already proven you're more than a match for him," Sean said.
"For how long? How do I know that the next time he won't succeed in killing me?"
Gavin looked at her with eyes that oozed sympathy. "You don't. All you can do is keep fighting."

Alex sighed."I haven't thought about it. There's so much to do before I get to that point: get through high school, college, meet someone I actually want to marry..."
"If you wait till you do all that stuff, you'll be like thirty before you have kids. Geez, that's so old!"

Her mom laughed a little and held her close. "Oh, honey, I know how you feel. Believe me. Bruce has been after me to go on a date with him for the last year."
"Wait, you've put him off for a year and he is still around?"
"Apparently he's patient as hell. I kept him at arm's length but he persisted and I finally gave in. I figured a date or two couldn't hurt. And then before I knew it, I realized that I enjoyed his  company. A lot."
Alex smiled a little at her mom's blushing."He must really like you to wait for that long."

"What do I do? He's going to come here and kill me. How can I fight a guy that's military trained?" Alex asked.

Review: Toxic (Pretty Little Liars #15) by Sara Shepard

Published: June 3, 2014 HarperTeen
Genre: Mystery, YA
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary

One A has been captured…but the most dangerous A of all is still out there in the penultimate installment in Sara Shepard's #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series.

High school seniors Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna barely survived their most recent encounter with A. And it's not over yet…. The police don't believe there's another, deadlier, A out there, but the girls know what-and who-they saw. If they don't track down this final tormentor soon, A will silence them forever.

Sara Shepard's fan base continues to grow as ABC Family's hit Pretty Little Liars TV show draws in new readers to the #1 New York Times bestselling series. Full of unexpected twists and shocking revelations, the second-to-last novel ramps up the stakes for the jaw-dropping series conclusion in Pretty Little Liars #16.

“Pick Your Poison-A”

So Toxic is the 15th book (and supposedly the 2nd to last in the series- But it has been stated that other books would end the series and here we are at book 15).  This book picks up right where the 14th ended.  Ali got away and pinned everything on her side kick Nick.  She is still after the girls and back with a vengeance.

In this installment it’s summer break and A is a back stronger than ever.  Each girl gets some sort of big “break,” but A is behind all of it and quickly turns their worlds upside down yet again.  No one believes them that Ali is still alive.  So they set out to find the truth for themselves.

BRING YOUR A GAME

What I love about this series is the characters and all the drama.  Ali keeps getting crazier and crazier, and pulling off bigger stunts.  The girls entertain me with how incredibly stupid they can be sometimes.  It is like watching a horror movie when the girl goes out in the woods and trips and falls as the bad guy gets closer and closer.   They fall directly into A’s traps every time!  Hannah gets a movie roll in a movie about the PLL lives along with big time movie stars.   A major art dealer just randomly calls the art gallery and buys a picture of Ali that Aria painted making her a heavy-hitter in the art world.    Spencer is at the top of her game with her blog about anti-bullying.  The blog is getting lots of attention, and this heart throb comes out of nowhere with a sob story that sweeps Spencer right off her feet.  Emily’s long lost love, Jordan, finally contacts Emily and wants her to come visit her in jail.   She finds out Jordan may be getting out within the month.    All of these events were set in motion by the one and only Ali who plans on taking them all out.  Who doesn’t love a vindictive crazy chick?

“Once upon a time there was a girl whose mind was like a never ending chess game  Even when she seemed beaten, she always had a plan- And she wouldn’t stop until she won.”

WILL THIS CHICK EVER DIE

As much as I heart this series, all good things must come to an end at some point.   This series is past that point.  It’s getting to where I cannot disband my disbelief that any ONE human being can be that stupid, much less FOUR of them.  For example, the girls have a good guess at where Ali has been hiding.  Some remote house in the middle of some obscure town in the woods.  Do you think they once thought “hey let’s call the cops”?   Nope they decided "hey lets go up to the woods AT NIGHT IN THE DARK  to look for the girl who has tried to kill us numerous times, set us up for awful crimes, and has ruined every aspect of our lives".   That sounds like a great plan yes let’s do that!  Spencer spills all their little secrets to a boy she JUST meet from the BLOG.  Because that has good idea written all over it.  It has worked so well in the past.   I can no longer justify the girls decisions in my rational mind.

YES THIS IS MY FINAL ANSWER

Overall, like all books this one has its good points and its bad points.  As a fan, I do get a little excited knowing I get to know a bit more about the girls.  I get to delve a little bit deeper into Rosewood.   I am ready to get all the answers and let the series end before it is drug completely into the ground.  I hope the last two books WOW me and AMAZE me!   Sara better end this series on a high note or this chick will be pissed she read 17 books for nothing!!!

Blog Tour Excerpt and Trailer: Shadow of the Last Men by J.M. Salyards

Welcome to my stop on the Next Man Saga Blog Blast.
You can check out the review that Matt posted a few weeks ago.

 

Follow Salyards on the web at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google + | Amazon | Goodreads 

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When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? [9]

My friend Robyn from robgirlbooks tasked us with coming up with a theme song each month, and I love it! Music is a VERY big part of my life. This month Robyn has asked that we come up with songs that are oldies. I'm laughing so much because she went with this theme because it's her birthday month. I feel ya lady! Mine's 2 days after her's. This year I'm feeling the age too as my son started middle school and my nephew got married and had a baby of his own.

Zane's Choice:

Jaclyn's Choice:

What are your choices this month??

Re-Read Review: Dark Fever (The Fever Series #1) by Karen Marie Moning

Published: August 28, 2007 Dell
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….


As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…

“My philosophy is pretty simple – any day nobody’s trying to kill me is a good day in my book.” 

I haven't gone through this series in quite some time, and I don't have any reviews up for it so I wanted to give it another read through.

The Good

Mac on the surface is a girly-girl, Barbie reincarnate. She has the long blond hair, long tan legs, and loves the color pink (along with rainbow hues). However, she's shaken and stirred when she finds out that her sister has been murdered over seas. When Mac goes to Dublin, she literally has no one. She leaves behind grief-stricken parents who aren't really talking and comes to Ireland where she doesn't know a single soul. She's on a quest for vengeance though, so that's of little consequence right now.

Along the way, she meets some truly spectacular characters and sees things that are way out of her league of understanding. She learns of a dark world hidden from her in the small provincial town she grew up in. She's now surrounded with Fae, and boy are these guys scary. Moning's interpretation of the Fae are evil even though they are split into the two courts of Light and Dark (or Seelie and Unseelie), they are all bad. Moning provided such a deep and detailed world with numerous types of Fae, a catalog of mysterious characters, and objects of power with different abilities.

Mac ends up having to work with Jericho Barrons who is an all-around cocky, mysterious, oddly elegant, hard-angled, and truly Alpha male. One of the best things to me is that the characters of Mac and Barrons need a lot of work. They are very flawed in the beginning. Mac is a bit entitled and sugary sweet, and Barrons is too rough around the edges and doesn't care about anyone but himself. Watching Mac grow bit by bit was wonderful. She is still her sun-loving, bikini-wearing, rainbow girl deep inside, but she's also getting new sides to her that are amazing to read about. She's developing hard edges were she needs them. Barrons didn't really grow much in this one, but he has plenty of room for growth as a character and I love him anyway.

The Bad

The beginning was a bit on the slow side. Learning about Mac and her finding out the news about her sister was a little boring, but necessary. Then the trip to Ireland was well detailed for some world-building, but again, just slow. Things picked up dramatically after that though.

The Romance

This series is for an older crowd. There's not much romance to really speak of, but situations are mentioned in detail.

Conclusion

A great start for the series. The information of this abundant world isn't overwhelming, and is easy to grasp. The enigmatic characters make for good suspense because Mac doesn't have a clue who to trust. As a reader, you want her not to really trust anyone because it would be to her detriment. I love the intrigue, the unique world, the detailed and deep descriptions of the Fae, and just how scary they are. Excellent read that I recommend.

Excerpts

“Last night you said you wanted to know what to expect so you could better select your attire. I told you we were going to visit a vampire in a Goth-den tonight. Why, then, Ms. Lane, do you look like a perky rainbow?”

“Sometimes, Ms. Lane," he said, "one must break with one's past to embrace one's future. It is never an easy thing to do. It is one of the distinguishing characteristics between survivors and victims. Letting go of what was, to survive what is.”

“When insane things start to arrange themselves in sane patterns around you, you know you got problems.”  

“You, Ms. Lane, are a menace to others! A walking, talking catastrophe in pink!”  

“I love books, by the way, way more than movies. Movies tell you what to think. A good book lets you choose a few thoughts for yourself.” 

“I wondered what one wore to visit a vampire. The chic red sweater set didn't go so well with my darker hair, and I was afraid it might be construed as a flirtatious invitation to color me bloodier.”